Brian Markley

Impact Narrative

Brian’s proposal for promoting OVER:

“As a science educator (I currently teach Biology at T.C. Williams High School) I have a vested interest in helping students expand their world view. I have re-written my entire Biology curriculum to focus on a variety of sustainability issues ranging from Global Health to exploring the dynamic relationships that exist in Global Ecosystems. I begin the year by helping students understand sustainability through the lens of human population growth and its inherent impact on our living world. Using the work of Hans Rosling, a human demographer, we try and dispel misconceptions about our global community and identify the exact causes of high fertility rates, and thus human population growth.

If I were able to obtain copies of the books, I would use them to help students visualize issues as an activator for learning. They would then conduct more research into the numerous issues presented through the images and for them to develop action plans to address the issues. Teaching our youth represents one of the most important steps in conservation because if we can inform and empower our children, then hopefully they will be able to make the tough decisions necessary to address the host of sustainability issues that threaten our planet’s future.

In addition to my own classroom, my students could then use the books to do outreach in elementary schools and support increased awareness in younger students.

The use of these books will be documented through my teacher social media accounts (Twitter/Instagram). Students may be asked to create websites about specific issues, write blog posts, document related service learning projects through a variety of media (e.g. photos, film) as they use the books in their learning process.”